All three have lifetime. I have upgraded the hard drives on both the S3s to 2T, and also replaced the power supply (bulging caps) with Weaknees replacements. All three units are working perfectly.

I am wondering if it would be worth it to sell all three, and replace them with one Roamio (the base model, as I am OTA only) and also two mini's. What would be the pros and cons of such a move? Is it worth it to try to get something out of the aging equipment while I can, and upgrade? What say you all?

I replaced an original Series 3, TiVo HD, & Premiere (5.25TB storage total that is all nearly full) with a new Roamio used for OTA only, but I only have 1 TV and didn't need any minis. 4 tuners is enough tuners for me for recording and I didn't even bother upgrading the hard drive as it is very easy (and fast) to move shows off the Roamio onto one of my 2 computers for longer term storage. I likely will not be able to sell my old TiVos anytime soon because I don't have enough computer storage to move everything off them (maybe I should just give up some of the shows ).

My bottom line is the Roamio is a great OTA DVR, for me it gets better reception than my Premiere and having one to do list is great. So I would go for it.

Well obviously the biggest con is you'd be losing 2 tuners. But the Pro is you'd be consolidating all your recordings into a single device which is a lot easier to manage. Plus you're getting the ability to stream between rooms which is WAY more convenient then using the old transfer method.

Cost wise you're probably looking at laying out a bit to. You'll probably be able to sell the two S3 units for $200-$250/ea and the Premiere for $350-$400. So best case you'd have about $900 to spend. A Roamio + 2 Minis all with lifetime will cost $1067 (priced from Amazon) plus whatever hard drive upgrade you decide to do since I assume 500GB isn't enough for you. On the plus side Roamios support drop in upgrades so you can just drop in any blank drive up to 3TB and it'll just work so that should only cost $100-150 depending on how big you go.

So basically you need to decide if you want to go through the hassle of selling your old TiVos and laying out a few hundred bucks for the whole house experience. If you were currently paying for CableCARDs in all those TiVos it would make the decision a lot easier, but you have no reoccurring monthly costs to eliminate so it's all about features and convenience.

Thanks for the info everyone! Dan, that is exactly the kind of post I was hoping for - you made it clear that (for me) it boils down to ~$1000 for a consolidated playlist and streaming between rooms versus older tech and the loss of two tuners.

Yea, everyone's needs are different. I had thought about doing the same thing. I have a 4-tuner Premiere, 2-tuner Premiere (lifetime) and two Series 3 TiVos (lifetimed). However, the two Series 3 TiVos are used in rarely used areas (basement rec room and basement guest bedroom).

Therefore, I figured simply paying the $1.50/month cable card fee for each of the Series 3 makes more economical sense right now instead of shelling out $500 for two lifetime minis. At only $3/month for my Series 3, it would essentially take 166 months/13 years to break even for the cost of two (lifetime) minis. Plus, I have 4 extra tuners to record stuff if needed (but rarely do).

Again, its ONLY because I am getting a cable card rate of $1.50/month from Comcast. If it was $5 or more per card that I hear some other cable companies charge, I would then seriously consider using minis instead too.

I don't know if I would want all my eggs in one basket. If it has a mother board failure ( which is very rare ) then you might be out a lot of money with no TiVo.
Either way, it is a good idea to have your TiVo on a power backup system to protect it from getting fried. Also the cable in source protected somehow.

I don't know if I would want all my eggs in one basket. If it has a mother board failure ( which is very rare ) then you might be out a lot of money with no TiVo.
Either way, it is a good idea to have your TiVo on a power backup system to protect it from getting fried. Also the cable in source protected somehow.

3 year extended warranty is only $40. Well worth it when you're talking about a $1000 Roamio Pro with lifetime.

I would read the warranty very carefully. It seems whenever I get one I get ripped off somehow.

Yea. I think from what I remember reading on these forums, the TiVo warranty is a one time claim. Whether you claim it on day one or the last day, it can only be used once. Unlike the warranty from Best Buy where you can have as many claims as it takes

Assuming you've made the change:
Only gotta pay for 1 CableCARD
Only have 1 hard drive instead of 3 (easy points of failure)
HD netflix screen on all devices
Much ess cost for subscription on Mini devices

Downsides:
4 tuners spread across 3 devices carries a possibiliy of causing recording conflicts
Less storage space
If main box breaks, all 3 devices are useless until it's fixed
Required to upgrade to fully-hardwired across all devices (wireless not supported and probably not going to work)

I would recommend getting the middle model Roamio instead (if you intend to upgrade). That has a built-in MoCA adapter, so it can provide a network connection to the Mini devices. Additionally, it has a built-in Stream that is now capable of transferring out of network (to iOS devices only). You also get 6 tuners instead of 4 and the same size hard disk as your XL.

The most expensive Roamio is just the same thing, but with a bigger hard drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan203

3 year extended warranty is only $40. Well worth it when you're talking about a $1000 Roamio Pro with lifetime.

The warranty isn't going to cover the lifetime service, but by default, the lifetime service can be transferred in an RMA at no cost if it's less than 3 years old.

Also, yes, the warranty can only be claimed once. If it is consumed, it will have to be re-purchased for the next unit.

Yea. I think from what I remember reading on these forums, the TiVo warranty is a one time claim. Whether you claim it on day one or the last day, it can only be used once. Unlike the warranty from Best Buy where you can have as many claims as it takes

Apparently BestBuy has also started the one time use thing. At least according to someone over in the Roamio forum.

I would recommend getting the middle model Roamio instead (if you intend to upgrade). That has a built-in MoCA adapter, so it can provide a network connection to the Mini devices. Additionally, it has a built-in Stream that is now capable of transferring out of network (to iOS devices only). You also get 6 tuners instead of 4 and the same size hard disk as your XL.

Unfortunately, none of the 6 tuners in the middle model Roamio are OTA and the OP requires OTA.